After Life
by tangerinefromhell
Summary: Bill goes to visit Laura everyday. What happens on the last day? Post-Daybreak. Warning: Character death  but it's gentle, don't worry


Disclaimer: The stoic Admiral Adama and the lovely Laura Roslin are not mine. I have taken them out for a little trip and they will be returned from this adventure unharmed and perhaps a bit more satisfied. I'm making no money, please don't sue because I have none to give either.

Bill sat heavily beside the rocks he had laid carefully over his wife's body years before. He always thought of her as his wife. She was his lover, his partner, his friend. The late summer breeze ruffled his silver hair and filtered through his mustache as he sat his walking stick down on the ground beside him. Resting a hand on the nearest rock, Bill looked out over the plains. Animals bounded below them, basking in the cooler air that came with the beginning of the rainy season and the lush green plant life that resulted from the burst of water.

"It won't be long now," he said quietly, his hand absently caressing the warm stone.

He looked off to his left towards a nearby bluff and saw their cabin, the one he had built for them, where he resided with only her memory for the past ten years. Around him life burst with color and sound. He found it fitting that it was the season of new life when his own would finally end. It had been a long life without Laura, too long, but he had told himself taking his own life wouldn't be right, would be an insult to everything she had held dear, to everything she had died fighting for.

His wait was over. The Gods would send for him in short order. He could feel it, could feel his life beginning to drain away, the preparation of his soul to head into the afterlife Laura had so desperately believed in. He didn't honestly care much about where he ended up, or even really how he got there. He cared only to hope that she would be there waiting for him. Bill settled more fully against the stones and turned his face up to the sky.

When he finally took his last breath, he exhaled her name, a quiet and final prayer.

Bill opened his eyes and took a deep, almost desperate breath. He looked around in slight confusion, somehow expecting to still be on the cliff over the plains. He found himself on a ship, white with blue trimming. The bow was nearby and he headed for it, taking a deep breath. The air smelled faintly of fish and salt, and he breathed deeper. It was a fantastic smell that he had missed desperately during his years in space.

He rested his hands on the ship's edge, feeling the thrum of its old-world engines as it pushed through the water towards a green shore. He looked himself over. He wore his uniform, but it seemed new, freshly pressed, the dark blue rich and deep. A hand through his hair revealed that it was once again thick and a glance into a nearby window showed that it was once again dark, barely peppered with grey. His own reflection made him arch a brow in surprise. He was younger, slightly younger than he had been when the colonies had been attacked, and his body was leaner, more like it had been in the recent years since they moved planet-side. His face bore no hair. He nodded and straightened his jacket, returning to the prow of the ship as he felt it slow beneath him.

The green bank started to show through a soft fog, and he noticed figures standing on the beach. There he saw his parents, a few old friends at their shoulders. Zack was there, smiling in greeting, a grinning Kara hanging on his shoulder. He searched through the gathered people, his eyes looked only for one person. He found her, edging her way to the front, standing out in sharp detail against the haziness of the others, even his son. The boat docked quietly and he walked off of it, being greeted by the gathered group. He wrapped his arms tightly around Zack's form, hugging his son to him after so many years apart. That embrace broke to be replaced with one from Kara, who laughed as he swung her around in joy.

"Good to see you Old Man," she said happily.

He shared embraces with friends, with his parents, with the stoic form of Saul Tigh, his eye patch gone, his body no longer gaunt, his hair returned. He rolled his eyes as Ellen's obnoxious personality burst into the scene with a bright greeting. Finally through the throng of people, he found her on the other side.

They stood still, gazing at one another. She smiled shyly at him across the space, her cheeks flushing gently. He smiled back. She wore the red dress from New Caprica, her form full and not drawn by cancer. The sunlight shined in the beautiful chestnut mane that topped her head and his fingers itched to run through the silken strands that tumbled across her shoulders and down her back. Her feet were bare, her toes sliding through the grass. As he looked down, he noticed that he too wore no shoes. Her glasses twisted between two of her fingers, her other hand holding up the bottom of her skirt. Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled with joy, and her grin grew wider. She was no longer drawn, tired, ill. She was beautiful in her health and he ached to hold her in his arms. Bill stepped forward—the first step—and they moved together with sudden need.

"Laura," he said quietly as she was cradled in his arms. He slid a hand into her hair and the other down her lower back.

They pressed together, not yet kissing, simply holding and being held. Bill felt tears burning hot behind his eyes and he tried to push them away. It had been so very long since he had held her. Laura raised her own hand to rest on his cheek, brushing her thumb over the arch of bone, blue gazes studying.

"It's about time," she said quietly, and they chuckled together.

A final movement and they slowly pressed their lips against each other. It was a kiss of loving reacquaintance, a sharing of joy at being reunited. Bill deepened it. Desperate to feel her against him, he pressed her closer, nearly lifting her from the ground. She welcomed him home with her lips, kissing him just as passionately as he did her and breaking only when they needed to breathe. They shifted slightly and embraced, Laura resting her head on Bill's shoulder. He took great joy in the sound of her breath against his ear.

"I love you, Laura," he said softly into her ear.

"I know," she said quietly back, he fingers raking through the hair at the nape of his neck.

Neither knew how long they stood pressed together, but Bill reminded himself with a smile that time had no meaning here. Breaking the embrace, Laura caressed his cheek and smiled at him. She took his hand and slipped from his arms.

"Come with me, there's something I want to show you."

He followed her without thinking, taking in the sight of her, the smell, the sound of her voice, the feel of her in his arms again. She led him through the edge of the woods and back to the other side. There was a village there, and the others from his group had filtered through into their dwellings. Laura led him through the middle of the town and out along a path that led away and up a bluff. They were walking down the other side and he stopped short, drawing her back to him. A stream ran through a brilliant green meadow, flowers and long grasses waving in a warm breeze. There, set back from the stream and in a small grove of trees, was a cabin.

Bill looked at Laura in wonder, memories of New Caprica and the ground-breaking filtering through his mind. She smiled at the look of delighted marvel on his face and tugged on his hand.

"It was here, waiting when I arrived. Kara showed it to me."

Bill paused again at the door, turning to look out on the little meadow protected by the bluff they had crossed over. Taking a deep breath, he stepped over the threshold of eternity.


End file.
